Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro files $10 billion lawsuit against GM

After its $1.6 billion dollar settlement with Toyota, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro has now filled a class-action lawsuit against General Motors in the federal court of the Central District of California. The firm is claiming all GM car owners deserve compensation for the economic loss and damages caused by GM’s tainted brand.

GM’s rocky history includes over 40 recalls covering more than 20 million vehicles worldwide during the first six months of 2014. This involves the recall for defective ignition switch system. The case accuses GM of misrepresentation, concealment and non-disclosure of “piecemeal” safety defects, all which has caused the devaluation of GM cars.

Using the experience gained from the Toyota case where Hagens Berman calculated the financial impact of Toyota’s recall, the firm is replicating their actions with GM. Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, says, “We used that experience to forensically examine the impact of GM’s recent actions on GM-branded vehicles, and the decreased value we have measured ranges from $500 to more than $2600 per vehicle and may go higher on some vehicles.”

According to the attorneys, if certified, the class would represent as many as 15 million GM car owners and exposure could be more than $10 billion. The class includes anyone who has owned or owns a new or used GM vehicle or who has sold a vehicle at its diminished price between July 10, 2009 and April 1, 2014.

The suit states, “GM’s egregious and widely publicized conduct, including the seemingly never-ending and piecemeal nature of GM’s recalls, has so tarnished the affected vehicles that no reasonable consumer would purchase them for what would otherwise be fair market value for the vehicles.”

Already facing dozens of other lawsuits for the ignition switch recall, GM is under even more heat in this pending litigation.

Contributing Author

Jessica Liu

Jessica Liu is a sophomore at Haverford College, where she is majoring in political science. At InsideCounsel, she reports on news for the Women, Influence,...